The U17 boys trained in the Niagara College
gym last night for 90 minutes. The
college purchased 2 real goals so the gym makes a nice little indoor facility now.
Watching the boys play 4v4 was very entertaining. There is something about playing in a
gym that brings speed and problem solving to the game that the boys forget about when they go outside. A lot of coaches want the turf time in the winter, but there is a reason why boys in South America play Futsal in their youth. The only concern with some gyms is floor space and safety. A lot of gyms have equipment laying around or some sort of apparatus projecting from walls.
There are a lot of benefits to playing in a
gym:
- To be successful you are forced to be more athletic in your play
- You need to use all parts of both feet to keep the ball moving and in possession
- You need to release your shots quicker because of limited time and space
- You need to finish more precisely because of the smaller goals
- You need to really establish your team’s shape to maximize the space on the floor and create space to work with the ball
- More involvement/touches for each player (no hiding)
- More meaningful coaching moments because the situation will come again very soon in a small game.
- Exposes “lazy” players who do not move to create space. Great opportunity for being constructive as a coach
Last night’s reminders were simply giving
them ideas on moving the ball forward and looking for opportunities to move forward. The reminders were not as much to the
player with the ball but the teammates in how their shape creates the opportunities
for penetration.
Last week we worked on 2v1s with them and reminded
them last night how the support player checking back creates space for others.
I am interested to see how much these boys
ingest in terms of game knowledge.
